English Electric Sea Canberra
The English Electric Sea Canberra was a carrier based version of the land based Canberra bomber of the RAF intended to give the Royal Navy a longer offensive reach. Although intended as a stop-gap it would serve on in naval service carrying out various roles until the 1970s. Development In the immediate post-World War II era the Royal Navy started looking towards the future with regards to its role as an offensive arm of British (and later New Commonwealth) forces. World War II had been a painful experience for the RN particularly the Fleet Air Arm who was always lagging behind the RAF in its capabilities. In 1947 as the English Electric Canberra was entering RAF service the Navy quickly identified a need for a similar aircraft that was carrier capable to not just replace war-era piston engined bombers but to give the service a leap in aircraft performance. The war had shown that land based fighter aircraft could be adapted for carrier based use but adapting such a large aircraft had not yet been attempted. The airframe had to be extensively reinforced to deal with the rigors of carrier operations. The landing gear was totally redesigned with the twin nosewheel being raised in order to give the aircraft a greater angle of attack on the catapult launch. Due to the size of the aircraft folding wings became a necessity but even when folded it was obvious that the aircraft could only operate on the largest fleet carriers since these were the only ones that had high enough hangars. Carrier Trials The first prototype resembled the RAF Canberra bombers with a bubble canopy and glazed nose. Carrier trials commenced in June 1950 aboard HMS Victorious and test pilots noted how responsive it was approaching the ship. Deck handling was tricky but not impossible. Catapult tests proved the aircraft could effectively launch from a carrier but cracks quickly appeared on the nosewheel mount and the main wing spar requiring additional strengthening. Due to the weight of the aircraft it was quickly learned that it could not land back aboard the carrier with a full weapons and fuel load without damaging the deck requiring a crew to ditch these first if a mission was called off. New Requirement As carrier trials commenced the RN changed its requirement. The new requirement called for an aircraft to be able to carry out independent all-weather bombing missions (i.e. without the aid of a pathfinder). This required a radical redesign of the nose section to house an all-weather navigation and targeting radar. This in turn upset the aircraft's balance and required further redesign of the aft fuselage. The new prototype was unveiled in 1952 and was a markedly different aircraft to the early prototype. Along with the new radome the pilot now sat in a fighter style cockpit offset to the left while the navigator sat in an enclosed cockpit buried in the forward fuselage (a layout that would reappear on the Sea Vixen). Category:Aircraft